Thank You for the Reminder

April 25 - May 1, 2011

After an incredibly long weekend of hockey and fundraising, my sleep went uninterrupted until around 12 Monday, when I got up and made some food before heading to work for my long day. My legs were still pretty whipped, so I spent most of the day trying to stay seated. After work, the night consisted of a little bit of cooking, and a little bit of reading before my eyelids couldn't take it anymore, and I went to bed.
Tuesday morning, I was still feeling a little lazy, but i tried my best to get to the gym for a bit of a workout. I got in a quick run, and a few weight exercises before it was time to shower up and get to work. The little that I did made me feel much better, and I felt much better at work having gone. After work, I went back to the gym to get in a good bike ride and some weights, and to ultimately have a good shower since my shower had been giving me problems. After the gym, I went home and had a feast of processed cheese, ham, and crackers, and a protein shake before throwing on a movie to fall asleep to.
Wednesday I got up and went to see Wes in the hospital, and check how he had been since the weekend and meet his cousin Dylan, who had flown in for a visit. His progress was still moving forward, albeit slow, but forward nonetheless. His left eye was showing great signs of responsiveness, and to certain audio cues he would turn his head and stare. I stayed at the hospital for a couple hours, and then left so I could get to work on time. Work was filled with a flurry of second draft essays to be checked and graded, which made the day go by quicker, but more frustrating. The only reprieve during the second draft essay check week, is that I have no trouble failing the kids who did not make sufficient changes, which lessens the work load. At the end of the day I went to the gym to ride the bike and lift some weights. Then as I finished and weighed myself, I was delighted to find that I had hit an all time high of 77kg. Looks like the trouble is paying off. After the gym, it was home for some food, and to get some sleep.
Thursday morning I got up happy about the night before's weigh in, and got myself ready for the day with a good breakfast, then headed out to the gym. After a good run, I did some light weights, then hit the shower so I could get to work and get back on essay marking. Between John and myself, we were able to get almost all the essays finished by the end of the day, making home time extra exciting because we knew we would be living it up on Easy Street the next day. Then again at the end of the day, with the affirmation that my work was paying off, it was back to the gym for some biking and lifting. That and I knew I would not make it the next morning, because John and I had scheduled another man date. After that it was off to home, and to bed.
Friday morning I got up extra early to meet John and Eric at the Lotte Theatre to watch Thor in 3D. The movie started at 940, so I naturally left my house at 940. Luckily it was nice out, so I rode my bike over to the theatre, and was able to make it there and meet them just 10 minutes late. So really, I helped us miss the previews. Thor was a pretty good movie, though I was a little disappointed that it was more of a love story/life lesson movie, but a good movie nonetheless.  When the movie was over we hung out for a few minutes, but the skies were turning grey, so I rode my bike home to make some food and get ready for work. Work was good, and I used the first 4 hours of not having classes to check the few essays that had trickled in over night, and then it was of to my classes. My day was going as smooth as any Friday goes when all you want to do is get out of work, and then in my very last class I had a kid make my day. When I walked into, my kids had been having a juice and snack party with their Korean teacher, and immediately half of them started pleading to go to the washroom. I quickly squashed their dreams by say "No", but then added "You can only go to the bathroom if you are going to pee your pants". Then to my surprise and dismay, one of my boys replied, "I'm Peter Pan!". Bewildered at how he thought I said Peter Pan, and in turn came up with his response, I just stood there for a moment and laughed. That comment alone was enough to get me through the rest of the day, and when work was over I went to the gym to make up for my missed workout in the morning. Then it was home for some food and a good nights sleep.
Saturday morning was a bright and early one so I could get up to the hospital to see Wes and help Monitta out after her long night alone with him. I got there just after 1030, and stayed until just after 7pm so I could get to Itaewon for SoHyun's birthday party at Ho Lee Chow, the American Chinese restaurant in the Hamilton Hotel. I was a little late for dinner, but was able to get my order in and eat without being that guy everyone was waiting on. Over dinner I had the chance to tell Melanie and WonJong, Alex and Louise, Brady and SoHyun, Thomas and Jeanne, and Frank about how well Wes was doing, and about the medications he was on to prevent any seizures and infections, and how well he was responding to them. After our dinner, we all headed over to Bungalow for a few drinks. It was a great, but expensive time, and when we decided to leave Brady had to call it a night on account of his back acting up, which meant SoHyun and Frank also left. The rest of us continued the party over to Club Zion, the reggae bar, where we continued to have a few more drinks and dance a little. Eventually things got weird when some dude came up behind me and started stroking my dreads and asking me to dance. I RSVPed "No thanks", but he was having none of it and pulled me out of my chair and started dancing. For every step towards me he took, I took two back, and soon enough he got the picture and left me alone. When we were all finished laughing at my expense, it was time to go out into the light of the rising sun and get some McDonald's before sticking a fork in the night. After some food, it was onto the subway for the trip home. I was in bed by 7, which was not exactly what I had in mind, but that seems to be the story of my life.
After sleeping for only 5 hours, I was awoken by a call from John about when I was planning on heading to the hockey rink. Since we played each other in the 4 O'clock, I told him I wouldn't be going until closer to 2, so I could watch some of the games before us and get warmed up for our game. We met at the subway station just after 2, and rode to the Sports Complex together while talking about the night before, and our games to come. The Bush Pilots, lead by Peter Mosca, played well, and our first game ended in a 2-2 tie. But, the X-Men pulled it together and came out strong in the second came to win it 4-2. After our games, we stuck around to watch the 6 O'clock game and have a couple beers. When the games were over, and we had finished cleaning up, we hit the subway to head back to Bongcheon, where I went to get groceries and a pizza before heading home. Then, while at the grocery store, the super sweet teller who always helps me saw that I had a cut on my hand and blood all over my shirt, and flew into mother mode, got out all the ointment and bandages I would need to fix a bullet wound, and fixed me right up. At the end of a long day, it is acts like that, that make the difference, and remind me of how caring Koreans outside the collective really are. With my bandaged hand, groceries, and pizza I headed home to call home and have a shower, before calling it a week and curling up with Goah for a good nights sleep.